CIA, FBI work out rules for coexisting

Published 6:30 am, Saturday, January 29, 2005

WASHINGTON - With the FBI increasing its intelligence gathering, the bureau and the CIA are negotiating how to do their work without exposing each other's operations or duplicating efforts.

Officials in both agencies are at work on a classified document intended to spell out how they collect intelligence in the United States and abroad and ensure that they share information, according to FBI and CIA officials who spoke Friday on condition of anonymity.

The issue of intelligence-sharing was a major concern of the independent commission that investigated intelligence failures before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The commission concluded that disharmony among the intelligence agencies and the failure to recognize the danger posed by al-Qaida contributed to the government's inability to thwart the attacks.

The FBI faced especially strong criticism that it never acted on information it possessed that could have established links between some of the Sept. 11 hijackers.

Latest News Videos

Local organizations, attorney general's office looks to end human traffickingWLKY

A night at the Wiener Dog RacesMIchael Wyke, Houston Chronicle

Wiener Dog Races at Sam Houston Race ParkHouston Chronicle

Falmouth crash involving ambulance injures eightWLWT

Man indicted in connection with serious crash last yearWMUR

Today in History for February 18thAssociated Press

Still, when Congress overhauled U.S. intelligence last year, it rejected calls to take away the FBI's intelligence function, insisting instead that there be close cooperation.

The ground rules under consideration are designed to put that charge into effect. "We need to ensure there is a clear delineation of things so we don't inadvertently expose an operation," an FBI official said.

While there is a history of friction between the two agencies, an intelligence official said there is enough work to go around.

"That is really what is happening in the field and at headquarters," this official said.